Goals Within Reach
by MikoGalatea
Summary: Written for fandomgiftbox on DW. Aoi and Sakura train together in preparation for Class 78's first practical exams. Set pre-despair.


This was written as a gift for Inkyrius through fandomgiftbox.

Aoi/Sakura happens to be my favourite ship from the first game, so I thought I'd choose them out of the pairings you put forward and write something cute with them related to practical exams for you. As far as compliance with DR3 goes, while I do wish Side:Despair had a firmer timeline, here I'm happily running with the I-think-reasonable assumption that Class 78 at least had a chance to do some exam prep before everything went south.

Hope you enjoy!

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" **Goals Within Reach** **"**

With Class 78's first practical exams looming ever closer, Aoi and Sakura were once again training together, much as they had always done since they first met at the beginning of the school year. This time, they'd both opted to focus on bench presses.

"Whew!" Aoi finally set the barbell back down after one last press and wiped her brow, sighing from all the effort she'd just put in. "That was a good one! I think that's the most I've ever done with that added weight!"

Sakura, who'd been spotting her while it had been Aoi's turn on the bench, gave her a warm smile. "It was. You've been progressing more and more each time we have trained together. However..." Her expression became one of mild concern. "Be sure you do not push yourself too far beyond your limits in any one session. I fear you may come to harm."

"I know," Aoi said, "but I can't help feeling nervous for the practical exam, y'know? And when I'm nervous, I just wanna train all the more!" She got herself off the bench, grabbed a towel to dab the sweat off her skin, and stood to face Sakura with a grin. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go totally over the top or anything. Just going a little bit further every time is fine by me!"

Her friend nodded at her words. "You have a good approach. Perhaps it was foolish of me to be worried."

"No," Aoi assured her, "I appreciate it! Thanks, Sakura-chan." She held out her fist to the other girl, who gently bumped it with her own. "Don't you feel nervous at all, though?"

Sakura folded her arms and closed her eyes thoughtfully. "I cannot say that I don't," she admitted. "Even so, as long as we keep our goals within our sights and strive towards them as we have been, I believe our training shall bring the results we desire." The corners of her lips turned up again. "I have the utmost faith in your ability, Asahina. You are growing ever closer to your goal by the day. You will be fine in the exam."

Aoi beamed back at her. "Same to you! You believe in me, I believe in you right back!" Bubbling with optimism and enthusiasm, she threw a quick glance towards the bench again. "So, are we gonna swap places and carry on now?" She was obviously eager to keep their training session going.

"Aye." Though much calmer in her expression, Sakura nonetheless shared the sentiment.

After they worked together to load additional weight plates on to the barbell – Aoi always gulped a little at the sight of it fully loaded even though she'd seen it so many times already – Sakura assumed her position on the bench, Aoi assumed her own as her spotter, and then the bench presses began anew.

"It's kind of you... to spot me each time," Sakura noted between lifts, which she made look remarkably easy despite the sheer amount of weight she was working with. "Most would believe... I have no need for it..."

Aoi puffed out her cheeks in annoyance at the very thought of those people. "Well, they're wrong! Why _wouldn't_ I spot you?" The irritation in her tone quickly gave way to something much more positive towards Sakura. "You may be super strong, but it's not like you can't get hurt like any other person!" Then she flashed another bright grin at her. "Besides, you're always supporting me, so there's no way I wouldn't do the same for you!"

Several presses later, Sakura finished up with a satisfied grunt from all her hard work before offering an appreciative smile to her friend. "Thank you, Asahina. I am glad to have met you here at this academy."

As she got up from the bench, she fell quiet for a moment as if considering something before speaking again.

"After the exams... what say we visit the local park, just the two of us? We could run some laps around the perimeter, get something to eat from your favourite food stand there, take a break to enjoy the scenery if you wish..."

Aoi's heart rose with excitement as her ears took in the invitation. "Yes, yes, of _course!_ I'd _love_ to!" Unable to contain her sheer joy at the prospect of a date with Sakura, she grabbed the other girl's hands into her own and pulled herself close to her, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet the whole time.

"I'm happy to hear it," Sakura said. "I'm looking forward to it as much as you are." She bent down a little so Aoi's face could more easily reach hers, and with the next bounce, their lips touched.

Following the kiss, Aoi jumped back and flexed her arms with renewed determination. "All right, I'm extra pumped now! Let's keep on doing our best, so we can pass these exams and make our date even more worth it!"

Sakura nodded once more in approval. "Of course. I would not consider doing anything less, much the same as yourself."

And so they kept up their routine of training together – so that they could pass their practical exams and break their previous records in the process; so that they could enjoy their date afterwards, and more dates to come; and so that their end goals would come closer and closer to being within their reach.

 **Fin.**

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As always, comments and constructive criticism are both welcome and appreciated.


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